


Gaia

by Vhaenya



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Humanstuck, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2014-02-03
Packaged: 2018-01-06 21:06:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1111517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vhaenya/pseuds/Vhaenya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sickness starts to spread across the country, infecting millions and dooming many more to their demise. Karkat, Dave and John must work together to survive and to find their friends that might still be alive. Betrayal and mistrust surrounds the friends as their journey progresses. Will they be dragged down with the infected or fight and survive?</p>
<p>After Kankri attacks Karkat and his friends, they run to find safety in the chaos. Their only hope for survival lies in the hardware store at the other side of the town.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

June 12th 2013

Dear Utterly Worthless Diary,

What a fan-fucking-tastic day I had, not. I thought since it's my birthday and everything that maybe Sollux would say something to me, or at least acknowledge my existence. Fucking prick, instead all he did was send some virus to my piece of shit lap top. I don't even think that he accepted my friend request on Facebook yet. Like I said, fucking dumb ass prick.  
Keeping a diary or a journal wasn't my idea. I could be doing something that doesn't make me feel the need to jump out of my window, not like that would accomplish much, I live in the basement.  
My brother, Kankri, thought that keeping a diary would help with my “anger issues” last I checked, he wasn't my therapist but I don't need to be kicked out or some shit. God dammit Kankri, I feel so girly writing all of this. Man, if Strider ever gets his grubby little paws on this, my life will be ruined.   
I guess I should tell a little bit about myself before I get carried away writing about shit that doesn't affect my life. I'm Karkat Vantas. I admit, I'm a short fuck and I don't have many friends. It's not because I lack the required social skills, it's because I choose not to socialise with these low lives. Today happens to be my birthday, of course I already stated that. I turn eighteen today. Nepeta decided to believe that it was up to her and Terezi to throw me a gigantic fucking party. Everyone who wasn't in their right mind came over to my brother's house to throw me “the best party ever” yeah, sure.  
Aradia got me a book about Archaeology, though I think she got that with her own interests in mind. Tavros gave me a guitar book, Kanaya gave me the movie The Switch and When In Rome. She knows me so well. Nepeta gave me a cat hat so it can go with my name- Karkat. How original, I think I forgot how to laugh. Terezi licked me on the face and said she would give me my gift later, I'm a bit worried about that one. Vriska wasn't there, thank god; she probably would've thrown a spider at me or some shit. Equius tried to set me up with a membership at his gym because I guess I'm too wimpy. Gamzee gave me a fucking can of peanut butter. What. The. Fuck? From Eridan, I received a red scarf. He said that perhaps next week we could meet up at Starbucks. I rejected him ever so kindly. Feferi also wasn't there, I'm not complaining either; she's too bubbly for me.  
Strider and Egbert are over right now, I guess they thought that I wanted some fucking sleep over or some shit. I don't know what goes on through their incompetent minds, nor do I want to know. I'm in the bathroom right now, I can hear them argue over which movie they should play. Lame ass friends, they didn't even ask what movie I wanted to watch and I'm the god damned birthday boy. Hold on, I heard something outside.

Karkat peers out of the bathroom window and strains his eyes against the dark night. Nothing is in sight as he scans his backyard. A frown tugs at the corners of his thin lips as he lets the blinds fall back in place. He swore that he heard something but decides it was probably Dave and John still fighting about a movie to watch.  
“Are you okay in there Karkat?” Karkat jumps at the muffled voice behind the bathroom door.  
“Of course I'm fine you slobbering fool. Can't I have some peace while I take a shit?” He growls out at John, John stifles a laugh.   
“Just wanted to make sure the birthday boy didn't drown or anything.”   
“First of all, I wouldn't drown in the toilet even if I was fucking drunk. I put my ass on the toilet, not my face. Second, I would never call for your help. You two blithering idiots would probably just point and laugh at me.  
John starts to laugh and shouts back.  
“Whatever beep beep meow. Hurry up though, I think Dave already started the movie.” Karkat flips off the bathroom door and slips his small journal into his hoodie pocket and flushes the toilet.  
“What movie are we watching?” Karkat stands in front of the sofa and rests his hands on his hips. Dave snakes his hands around Karkat's waist and pulls him down, in between him and John.  
“The One.” Dave announces nonchalantly and rests his arm on the head of the sofa. Karkat gives him an inquiring look and rolls his eyes.   
“What in the ever loving fuck is that?”  
“Oh man, you don't know this movie? It was fucking Jet Li in it. Jet Li is the fucking shit yo. So fucking tight, he's a gift from the gods with his sweet ass moves.” John lets out a snort.  
“Shut up already Dave. Maybe I should just switch it out with Little Monsters.” A teasing smile dances across his lips and he waggles his eyebrows at his two best friends.  
“Touch my DVD player and you'll die a terrible death Egbert.” Dave covers Karkat's mouth with his hand and holds up a finger.  
“Do you guys hear that?”   
“Yeah, nice try Dave. I remember last time you tried to do this. You can't fool me, I'm the pranking master.”   
“Seriously, shut the fuck up Egbert.” Silence fills the room and from outside the bedroom door, there is a small scratching noise.   
“It's probably just my dog-” Karkat mumbles against Dave's cool hand when Dave shushes him once more when a faint moaning sound is heard.  
“Dogs don't make that sound you dip shit, plus, Jack is on your bed.” Karkat turns his gaze to his bed and sees his Rhodesian Ridgeback staring at the door with his teeth baring. Karkat pushes Dave's hand away and glares up at him.  
“Then it's probably one of your stupid ass tricks. I'm not some fucking idiot.” He gets up and walks towards the door.  
“Dude, it's not one of my tricks. I swear.” Karkat shrugs him off and ignores John's wide eyed gaze. His hand rests on the door knob when they hear the groan again. This time it is much louder and they can hear the agony, the sound of someone gurgling in their own blood. Jack begins to growl and jumps off the bed, the three boys freeze in terror as fingernails begin to scratch down the door. Karkat swallows his fear and tightens his hand on the door knob, the scratching becomes louder and more rapid. When he starts to turn the door knob, the room is filled with heavy breathing.  
A hand reaches from the crack and pulls it further open to reveal Kankri's ragged face. Karkat lets out a sigh of relief and opens the door for his older brother.  
“Oh thank fucking god, Kankri, you had me fucking scared. Aren't you supposed to be at work?” Kankri doesn't answer but takes a step inside the dark room. Jack begins to bark at Kankri and backs himself to the furthest corner in the room.   
“Karkat, I think there's something wrong with your brother.” Karkat glares over his shoulder at John and lets out a huff.  
“There's nothing fucking wrong with my brother, Jack is just being an idiot.” He turns back around, “What do you want Kankri?” Kankri starts to spit up blood and stares at his brother before lunging at him, Karkat ducks and watches Kankri crash to the floor. He continues to stare at his fallen brother as Dave picks him up by the waist and runs out of the door with John and Jack.   
“What are you doing? That's my brother!”   
“Yeah well there's something wrong with him!” Karkat struggles against Dave's iron grip.  
“Let me go! He needs to go to the hospital! We need to help him!” John shakes his head, as he rounds the corner and goes up the stairs.  
“No can do, I've seen too many movies for this shit. Your brother is either a fucking zombie or he's possessed by the devil. Both are bad and we're getting out of here!” A scream resonates against the walls and sends shudders down everyone's spine.   
“I agree with Egbert, we're high tailing out of Dodge. No hiding upstairs either, we're not in some sort of B rated movie. This is real life damn it.” Heavy footfalls race up behind them and the howling grows louder. Adrenaline races through their veins as their legs push them to go faster than ever. John stumbles over the last step and sprawls out on the floor. Dave plops Karkat down and heads back for John.   
Kankri grabs a hold of his foot and sinks his bony fingers into his leg. John lets out a petrified yelp and tries to kick free of him. Dave grabs a metal baseball bat that's resting against a closet door and swings at Kankri's head. A sickening crack is heard as his jaw is whacked out of place. Karkat starts to scream at the top of his lungs, tears dribble down his face as he watches Dave bring the baseball bat down once more and splits Kankri's head open. He falls down to the ground in a puddle of his own blackened blood. John lets out a short nervous laugh before he collapses to the floor and stares up at the ceiling as he mutters quietly to himself.   
“You murdered my brother!” Karkat thunders at Dave, he races to him and weakly punches his chest.   
“You fucking murderer! You killed Kankri!” Karkat's knees buckles from underneath him and he sobs into his hands.   
“Kankri. . .” Dave drops the bloodied baseball bat and stares down at both of his friends and suppresses a shudder as he kneels next to Karkat.  
“He was going to bite John.”  
“How the fuck do you know that?!” Karkat wails at Dave and tears his hands away from his face and glares at Dave, “How do you know that he was going to fucking bite John?! We could've saved him! He was my only fucking family! He was only sick, we could've saved him! Look what you did to him Dave! Look!” Dave slaps Karkat across the face.  
“You really need to shut the fuck up, there was no hope for him. He tried to fucking bite you too Karkat. Get your head out of your ass and open your fucking eyes. We wouldn't be able to save him. We need to gather up supplies and get the fuck out of here.” Karkat shakes his head and gazes sadly at his late brother.  
“You can go, I'm staying here.”   
“The fuck you are. We're not safe here, it's bad enough that John is being crazy right now I don't need two loony bins right now. Man up and realise that we can't stay here.”   
“Why should I go with you. I have Jack.” Dave lets out an exasperated sigh and stands up.  
“You're coming with me because I'm not letting you stay behind here. You're more helpless than a fucking baby. Jack isn't going to protect you from everyone else. Now get off your ass and help me out.” Karkat reluctantly stands up and shies away from Dave as he offers his hand.  
“No. Don't you touch me.” His hand falls back at his side and Dave walks away towards the kitchen.  
“Fetch me some bags or something. Back packs would be great.”   
“Shouldn't someone watch John?”   
“Fine, stay here. I'll do everything, where are the back packs?”  
“In the closet you got the bat from.” Karkat mumbles as he sits down next to John. John stares up at Karkat, his bright blue eyes start to calm down and his breath slows down to a normal speed.   
“Karkat?” His voice is soft and laboured.  
“What?”   
“Forgot to say this earlier, happy birthday.” Karkat glowers down at his friend and lets out a growl.  
“Shut the fuck up.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sickness starts to spread across the country, infecting millions and dooming many more to their demise. Karkat, Dave and John must work together to survive and to find their friends that might still be alive. Betrayal and mistrust surrounds the friends as their journey progresses. Will they be dragged down with the infected or fight and survive?

June 13th 2013

It's one in the morning right now and I'm standing watch while Dave and John sleep. After. . .After what Dave did to Kankri, we had to leave the house because I guess it's too much of a risk that there might be more of whatever those things were. They say that they're zombies, I don't care what the fuck they are. We didn't even give my brother a burial. I had to leave him on the floor like some kind of slaughtered animal and leave. God, I'm so sorry Kankri. You never deserved this.

Right now we're heading to a hardware store on the other side of town because hardware stores have survival items and Dave said that everyone would go to gun shops and that we have to stick to things that are quiet because these things are drawn to sound.

It's really quiet if you ask me, it's too fucking quiet. There's absolutely no one, we found a house that was empty. Seems like most people just packed and left. That is, if they were lucky and didn't get bit. I wonder what happened to my friends. Did they get bit? Are they surviving this chaos? I hope they're alive. I need to know that they are. I'm going to have to have Dave let us look for them after we get supplies from the store.

There was a radio announcement yesterday. It said that this is some sort of plague and that it leaves the infected in a state that they can't control their body and that they attack anything in sight. Not just humans, whatever they can get their hands on, they will destroy.

There's no cure and it is highly recommended that we stay inside to stay safe from them. I guess they don't know how to open doors? There was one that came in here this evening while we were eating. We would've been dead if it wasn't for Jack. Bastards are fucking sneaky, they're not like the ones from the movies where they're loud and slow. These things are fucking quiet and fast. Dave smashed its head in too.

I just can't keep from thinking about Kankri. The last time I talked to him. . . When he was normal. I told him to fuck off and I don't want to talk to him anymore because all I do is apparently trigger him so why in the hell should I waste my breath on him. I then slammed the door on his face. He just wanted to know why I was crying. I'm a shitty ass brother. I never deserved him, I never even said that I loved him. He died thinking that I hate him. Maybe I should've let him kill me. At least then I wouldn't of had to see Strider beat his fucking skull in.

I can hear them moving outside. The screaming never stops, makes me wonder that if they feel pain? Why else would they be screaming all the time? These things aren't like the zombies from Michael Jackson's Thriller either. Theses things are fucking terrifying. This morning I saw them tear a squirrel to shreds. I would gladly take those dancing zombies over these monsters any day.

My shift is over, I have to wake up John now.

-Karkat Vantas

Karkat stows his journal into his grey backpack and shudders when he wears another spine chilling wail from the other side of the wall.

"John, John wake the fuck up." Karkat nudges John's shoulder but John rolls over with a smile on his face.

"No Nic Cage, you're the man."

"What the fuck Egbert? Wake up already god dammit." Karkat gives him a brisk push and John bolts up, his messy black hair stands up in all directions and his glasses lay crookedly across his face.

"Wha? Karkat?" Karkat rolls his eyes.

"Yes you dip shit. It's your shift, get off your ass. I'm tired as fuck." John stands up slowly and stretches with a yawn.

"Egbert reporting to duty, any trouble out there Vantas?" Karkat huddles into a blanket and glowers up at John.

"No." John salutes Karkat and puffs out his chest.

"Aye aye!" Karkat ignores John and rolls over and closes his eyes. Just as he was about to fall into slumber's warm embrace, John speaks quietly.

"Karkat, are you still up?"

"Yes." He lets out a quiet sigh and turns over to John, "What do you want?"

"I was just curious if you think that we might get saved?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, do you think that maybe the military might come and get us or something? They have to right? That's their job to make sure that everyone is safe from harm." Karkat props himself on his elbows and runs his hand over Jack's bristly fur.

"I don't know. As far as I fucking know, we're the only survivors left." Karkat pauses when he sees John's crestfallen face and quickly corrects himself, "We're not the only survivors. There's others out there and I'm sure the military will try to find everyone who isn't, you know."

"Do you, do you think that my dad is still alive? Or Nanna? What if they were like Kankri?"

"I'm sure they're fine. You Egberts are pretty fucking hard to kill, didn't a bookshelf fall on your grandma or some shit?" John lets out a soft chuckle and shakes his head, remembering back to the time when that happened.  
"Yeah, she is a pretty tough old lady."

"See? They're going to be perfectly fine. They're probably having the time of their lives pranking the shit out of the zombies."  
"Yeah you're probably right."

"Of fucking course I am." John rolls his eyes and turns his back on Karkat.

"Shut the fuck up and go to bed Karkles."

"Gladly." The room is silent again for a few minutes before John speaks again.

"I really am sorry about Kankri." Karkat focuses his grey eyes at the wall and draws the blanket closer around him.

"It's fine."

"No it's not Karkat I-"

"I don't want to talk about it okay? Just let me sleep already." Karkat snaps back at John curtly and John says nothing but fiddles with the cold metal baseball bat that rests on his lap.

"Good night Karkat." Karkat grunts under his breath and closes his bloodshot eyes.

Dave cracks open one eye and gazes at both boys at the other side of the room. He does feel remorse for what he had to do to Kankri, but it was either Kankri or all three of them. He wasn't about to let all three of them turn into zombies just because he was too chicken to kill one. He hopes that Karkat doesn't hate him for what he did though. It was survival of the fittest and there was no way that he was going to let Kankri chomp down on Karkat.

His mind wanders to Dirk and Bro, he knows that they're beating the shit out of the zombies. They're too nimble and careful to let one even get five feet of them. There's no need to worry about them, both Dirk and Dave were trained for the day of the zombie apocalypse by Bro. Dave never thought this day would come, but holy chipotle, here it is. He only wishes that he had one of his cool as shit swords, it would've been a better weapon than one metal bat. At least it's not a smuppet. As cool as they are, they would've failed against the cruel and ravenous wrath of those beyond the seemingly safe wall.

They need to keep the move on though, just what they need is some sort of giant zombie that towers over their sanctuary. Dave chuckles silently to himself, what fun that would be to fight titanic living dead that can crush houses with one stomp. Perhaps he should build himself a house of Legos. That would teach anything to go stomping around on his house. On that day, the huge zombies received a grim reminder.

Sunlight envelopes all three boys and Dave stands before Karkat, John and Jack with his backpack slung over one shoulder and the bat resting on the other.

"Welp, let's go to that hardware store."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll update more later on today, I have work in a little bit and I still need to get ready. I had such a weird dream but I can't remember what it was and it's driving me crazy because I know that it was weird but what made it weird? I wish I could remember my dreams. Meh, until then.


	3. Chapter 3

June 15th 2013  
I'm so worried about John. We got to the hardware store yesterday and everything was fine until Jack started acting up and that's our cue to get the fuck out of there.  
We scrambled out the back door and ran away from the store. We got all that we needed so we won't need to worry about food for a long time. Which is good because I don't think that we can leave with John in his condition.  
It turned out that it was zombies that set Jack off but other people. There was just four of them, but that doesn't there's more of them hiding or something.  
We watched them from a distance and they seemed harmless enough, although if they lasted these past few days; they're probably way more fucking tough than they look.  
They were just walking down the street looking around and sometimes touching a wall or telephone pole. As they approached our hiding place, we could hear them bickering at each other. As if they didn't have a single fucking care in the world that there's fucking zombies everywhere you look. This group either had some balls of steel or they were just really fucking stupid.  
They eventually left and we went back to the store to find it completely void of everything. Not even a single fucking beef jerky package in sight. We weren't too worried, like I said, we have everything that we need and then some. We decided that we should stay at the store for the night, there's a second floor where the owners used to live. We ate some food and thought of what we should do next. We knew that Rose and her family lived only a few blocks away from where we were staying so obviously we would go and see if, you know, if anyone survived. So, we all agreed that in the morning we would set out and search for them.  
John had watch first, he sat in front of the window that looked over the main street and was being typical John with his idiocy when he said that he had to take a piss.   
He, uh, he walked down the steps and went through the back door. Both of us heard the door shut and we chatted quietly to each other when we heard a fucking shot. Thinking that maybe John ran into some zombie or some shit, we didn't really process anything until we realised that we only owned one gun and it was upstairs with us. We strained our ears and all I could hear was my breathing and the pounding of my damn heart. Strider got up and peered out of the back window and that was probably the only time I saw him loose his cool.  
Dave shouted “No!” and bolted down the stairs so fast that I didn't even see him leave the room. I rushed to the window and. . . and I saw John laying in a puddle of his own blood. A short man was standing over him with a panicked expression.  
My whole body went numb and I felt my heart pounding against my chest. I scrambled down the stairs and tripped over the last step. Falling to the floor, I scrapped my knee and my mind just shut down. All I could think of was that John was dead and that we all were going to die, or turn out like my brother. Become those twisted fucking monsters.   
The back door was already open and I stood at the doorway, trembling and tears pouring down my face. I didn't want to lose another person and my mind raced to think about my Human Anatomy class I took and I was searching for anything that could save his life. The, the noises that John made; the gurgling and moaning. His choked sobbing and whimpering brought me back to reality and I ran to him.   
Dave was so furious that even his shades didn't mask the anger behind them. The short man screamed out an apology, stating that he thought he was a zombie. The man then proceeded to shoot himself in the head. His lifeless body fell to the ground with a heavy thud. We heard shuffling and wailing close by and we picked up John and raced to the back door.   
I watched from the window as the zombies dug into the dead man, the window was broken so I was able to hear the flesh ripping from the muscle and the bones snapping. John was sleeping on the bed and was all bandaged up. He was shot in the stomach, Dave thinks that he will make it but I can't help but worry that he won't. What if he dies and becomes whatever is out there? Will I or Dave be able to bring the bat down on his head?   
Strider told me that he had to find his sister, that she would know how to help him more. We already cleaned out the wound with some alcohol we found in the bathroom. Dave says that the bullet should be removed from his stomach, just the thought of digging around in his stomach to find a chunk of metal sickens me. I also don't want him to die though. I don't know if I'll be able to handle John dying.   
Dave left early this morning, now it's just John, Jack and me. John woke up a little while ago and is really pale and weak. I guess he would be, I mean he got fucking shot in the stomach; who wouldn't be fucking weak and shit? I really hope that Strider gets back with Lalonde. Please, John needs help.   
-Karkat Vantas

Karkat sets the journal down and stares at John who is petting Jack, his azure eyes focus to Karkat when Karkat clears his throat.  
“So, uh, how are you holding up John?” John shrugs and gives his best friend a small smile.  
“You wanna know the truth? I feel like I just got shot.”  
“John, I'm being fucking serious. Are you okay?”  
“I'm fine, I'm not going to die.” Karkat falls silent and continues to give John an inquiring look, John starts to fidget beneath his gaze and plays with Jack's ears.   
“Wow, what a week this has to be. I never would've thought in a million years that this would happen. At least I have some cool shit to tell my kids. 'Yeah, this one time a zombie almost bite my leg off and then a couple days later, I got shot in the stomach by some dude.' I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow, or even in a few years. Here I thought that my life was boring as fuck, now here I am!” Karkat frowns at John and moves closer to his bed-ridden friend.  
“How can you be so light hearted about all of this? Jesus Christ, John. You almost fucking died!”  
“I know, being a worry wart like you is bad for the soul. I don't think that I should be all Mr. Grumpypants about it, I'm already in bad condition. Where is Dave by the way? I haven't seen him in a few hours.”  
“He went to look for his sister so she can see what she can do about you.”   
“Oh, well that's nice of him.” Karkat looks away and sighs.  
“Please don't die on me John.” John's eyes widen and he rests his hand gently on Karkat's shoulder.  
“I'm not going to die, 'tis but a flesh wound.” Karkat rests his head on his hands and exhales. His blood-shot and exhausted eyes start to droop shut and he snaps awake. He hasn't slept in two days and now it's all starting to catch up with him. John smiles tenderly at him and speaks softly.  
“You should go to sleep, you look like shit.”   
“I have to keep an eye on you to make sure that nothing bad happens to you.” John shakes his head and gestures to Jack.  
“I have Jack, plus I can keep watch too. I can walk, or shuffle. I can finally work on my zombie walking skills. Go to sleep, I can handle myself.”   
“You sure about that? Seems like you can't even take a piss without something bad happening.”  
“At least I don't drown in the toilet.”  
“I told you, I would never drown in a fucking toilet!” John chuckles and rolls his eyes.  
“Whatever Karkat. I'm sure you try to convince yourself that every night as you go to sleep.” Karkat decides to ignore John and stalks over to his bed. He glares over at John before turning to face the wall. John barks out a laugh and falls quiet as he sees a small book fall out from the folds of Karkat's blanket nest.   
His pale feet land on the cold wooden floor and he takes small and quiet steps over to Karkat's sleeping form. John tentatively reaches out his hand and picks up the book. He shuffles back over to his own bed and studies the leather bound book. He runs a finger down the spine of the book, cherishing the feel of the sleek leather. Opening the book, he stares at the first page and reads the words that are written with much grace and flow.

~Karkat, I was out shopping with Porrim when I saw this book. Now I know how much you despise writing down your feelings and you would very much preferably take them out on your rather caring brother if I may add. I do really believe that if you would jot down what you are feeling, it would help you in later scenarios with life and what not. I really do expect you to write in this journal. I believe that deep down in you, you can become so much more. I'm sorry if that transgresses you, I am telling the actuality though. What is our impuissance, can also make us stronger in the outcome if we face them with the proper cognition! Think of how many outbursts could be averted if you could only stride to surmount them! I hope that even years down you will keep the good usage of having a journal around. I, in fact, keep one as well. It shows that even some of the best of us still have to write down our feelings. Don't give up just because of some poor chosen words, although they should know how to address someone properly. Hang in there Karkat, things will get better, they have to.  
-Kankri

John feels his throat close up at the last sentence, he wonders how Karkat is able to deal with everything; especially what went down with Kankri. That wasn't easy, even for John and he didn't know Kankri that well. It still tears someone apart watching another person be killed like that. John looks back at Karkat and listens to his snore softly before he turns his attention back to the book. He flips through the pages and sees Karkat's messy scrawling. His eyes scan the writing and feels remorse for what Karkat is feeling with everything that is going on at the moment. He flips to the back page and grabs a pen that he spots near his bed.  
Hey so I know that I'm being a dick and reading through your little diary but I just wanted to say that you can make it through this alive Karkat! I know you can! Damn, I kinda sound like my dad right now don't I? Hahahaha. You don't have to worry about me, okay? I'm tough, you said so yourself. Just always remember that I will always be here for you and even though Dave is a douche sometimes, he does have feelings and he will always make sure that we're both safe. Our friends are alive too! We're all tough little shits and we're going to pull through this and one day remember back to the Summer of '13 and say “Yeah, I survived a fucking zombie apocalypse, what did you do when you were 18?”Anyway, don't give up. Do you think that Cameron Poe gave up when he was sent to prison? Nope! Do you think that Eric and MAC gave up hope when the government was chasing them? No god dammit! Carry on my wayward son!  
-John Egbert  
John signs his name and smiles to himself, Karkat will probably kill him when he finds out that he read through his journal and then wrote something in the last page. John doesn't really care though, he knows that Karkat will appreciate it somewhere deep down in his cold and angry little heart. He gets up and places the book back where he found it before clambering back into his own bed and falls asleep to Jack's steady breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking a while to upload this, I was really lazy and I was working a lot. Anyway! Here's chapter 3, more shall be posted up today because I'm having trouble sleeping. Hope you all have a wonderful day and until then, fairwinds!


	4. Chapter 4

Dave stands on a rooftop and analyses the house his sister lives in, or perhaps lived in; he has no idea what fate has befallen on his dear sister. He briskly shakes his head, he must keep a positive attitude that Rose is indeed alive and well.  
His gaze flicks over the streets and sees no zombies, they always hide themselves until the perfect moment. It seems that they no longer scream. Perhaps they only scream as they're turning? Dave frowns, these things seem more intelligent than he once thought; they're not going to be like the stupid ones in the video games he would always play with his brothers.  
Dave jumps nimbly from the roof and lands quietly on the forlorn street. He does another sweep of the abandoned neighbourhood before sprinting towards his goal. He reaches the front door and raises his hand to knock when he decides that during a zombie apocalypse, there's no time for common courtesy.  
He pushes against the door and finds it jammed, Dave gives it one final push before going around back to check the door there. Like the previous one, the back door is locked. He lets out a desperate sigh and presses his forehead against the white wooden door. He has to find a way in, not only to make sure that Rose is safe but also for John's sake.  
Dave prays silently in his head to any and all gods that he can think up of that John is okay. With that thought in mind, he studies the home and sees the walkway that leads to one side of the house to the other. He gives a small nod before jumping up to the walkway. Dave gracefully lands on his feet and heads to the door on the left. He raises a hand and rests it on the cold metal. With a brisk flick of his wrist, the door opens slowly. A dark hallway greets him with silence. Dave takes a step in and steadies his nervous breathing. Everything is twice as dark thanks to his shades. He cracks his knuckles and the sound is nearly deafening in the foreboding home. He peaks into the first room he sees and lets out a ragged whisper.  
“Hello? Rose, you there?” There's no reply in the discomforting, cold room. Dave gives a small shrug, Rose's home is large and the chances of finding her on the first try was pretty slim. He shuts the door and finds a knife digging into the tender, pale skin of his throat.

June 16th, 2013  
Dave still hasn't returned yet, what if he got attacked by the zombies? What if he's one of them now? John and I are just fucking sitting ducks. I still have the gun that Strider gave me, it won't do any good with hordes of zombies though. If things get worse and Strider doesn't come back, I'm going to use it on John and me. I don't want it to come to that though. John is still hanging in there. He's sleeping right now and his face is kind of flushed. Does he have a fever? Is it maybe from an infection? Jesus fucking Christ, I really don't want to be alone. Please don't leave me John.  
-Karkat Vantas

Karkat glances at his sleeping friend with worry in his eyes. What if John really does die? Karkat starts to chew on his knuckle as his mind races with thoughts that he's going to die alone. What if when John dies, he turns into a zombie? Is that possible? He squeezes his eyes shut and fervently shakes his head.  
Karkat looks out the window and sees no movement, the zombies hide away and ambush their victims. He thinks back to earlier today when he saw a young woman dashing down the street. All of a sudden, there was a flash of movement and there were five of them on top of her. He won't ever forget the woman's scream of agony and fear. Karkat clenches his teeth together and with shaking hands, digs through his backpack and finds his pack of cigarettes.  
He lights one and leans back against the wall, he exhales and watches the smoke curl up to the ceiling as the nicotine seeps into his bloodstream and to his brain.  
“That's not good for you.” The faint yet stern voice startles Karkat and he opens an eye and sees John giving him a look of disappointment.  
“Who cares anymore.”  
“I do.” Karkat scoffs and stares at Jack sleeping on the floor next to him.  
“It doesn't matter, we have more fucking problems than a god dammed cigarette. Maybe you didn't know this, but, um we're in a middle of a fucking zombie apocalypse. I mean you have shit for brains, but get with the fucking programme! Is it that hard for you to comprehend? Are you that much of a shit spewing moron?” John says nothing for a moment before replying softly.  
“Why do you have to always be a dick?” Karkat opens his mouth to say something when John holds up a hand to silence him.  
“Whatever, it doesn't matter; it's not like I'm concerned about your health or anything.” John breaks their gaze and plays with the wool blanket that's draped over his thin shoulders.  
“It's like you permanently have a cactus shoved up or ass or something. Do you ever just chill?”  
“Oh yeah, let me go to the fucking store to get some chips and dip real quick. When I come back we can even watch a movie. Hell, what about we take a bubble bath later on today too, okay?”   
“What? No,ew. Now if you were Liv Taylor it would be a totally different story. She has such lush lips and her beautiful blue eyes that can melt anyone's heart.”  
“Keep dreaming Egbert.” His azure eyes snap back to his friend and he sticks out his tongue.  
“I will.” They hear a door open and close. Karkat and John fall silent and listen to a pair of light and giddy footsteps followed by a pair of loud footsteps. Karkat reaches for the gun by his side and aims it at the door as it slowly opens on squeaky hinges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a bit shorter than the rest; I think this is the shortest chapter of the whole story. I'm sorry. This story is going to be probably the longest I've written and uploaded online, I'm aiming for roughly 14 chapters although 15 would be better because everything that ends in 5 or 0 is a relatively good thing, 14 is even though so that's acceptable. Nah, I'll have it at 15 chapters long; make myself feel better.


	5. Chapter 5

Nepeta prances in front of her childhood best friend, Equius. He reaches out a long, tanned and muscular arm and takes hold of her forest green trench coat.  
“Nepeta, I highly recommend that you don't frolic around like a new born foal. Such horseplay at times like this can only spell out bad consequences.” Nepeta takes Equius' hand hand in her own small one and beams up at him.  
“You were always the scaredy cat out of efurryone.” A dark blush covers his cheeks and Equius runs his slender fingers through his long black hair and frowns down at the small girl at his side.  
“I am not a scaredy cat, Nepeta. There is a difference between being smart and being a coward.”  
“Of course! I furgot that you're too strong to be a coward.”  
“Exactly, I'm glad that you realised your mistake. Now cease your goofiness. You'll draw out the zombies with your recklessness.” Nepeta pouts and lets go of his hand.  
“You should stop being such a party pooper. I can handle myself, I'm a big girl!”  
“You're sixteen and stand at 4'9” you're the opposite of big.”  
“You're being a party pooper again! At least I'm not fat like you!” She pokes at his side, “You're getting soft here!” Equius bats her prying hands away and clears his throat.  
“That is not fat.”  
“Then what is it?” He turns and faces her, his cracked sunglasses glinting from the harsh summer sun and beads of sweat start to appear at the sides of his face.  
“We may continue this pointless conversation at a later time, we should rest for now; it's too hot to carry on.” Nepeta says nothing as she races after Equius towards the hardware store.

Karkat reaches his thumb up and clicks off the safety. His pounding heart pummels itself against his ribcage and adrenaline races through his body, making his hands shake in anticipation and fear. Karkat's vision dims until the door is the only thing he sees as it opens wider. He hears Jack barking somewhere behind him and moves his finger to rest on the trigger. He squeezes his eyes shut and begins to pull back the trigger.

Dave stands still as he feels the sharp blade push itself against his vein. He raises both of his hands above his head and speaks in a low voice.  
“I don't want any trouble, put away the knife.”  
“How do I know that you're not one of them?” A curt and prim voice resonates behind him.  
“They don't talk, dipshit.” The knife digs deeper into his skin and Dave feels something warm trickle down his neck.  
“Look how far they've come. They posses a-” Dave grabs the person behind him and flips them over his shoulder and in a flurry of skirts, she crashes down onto the floor and he snatches the knife from her broken grasp and holds it to her throat. With a very faint smirk, he lets out a dramatic sigh.  
“I told you I didn't want any trouble.” Jade green eyes glare up at him from behind perfectly arched eyebrows.  
“Let go of her Dave.” They both look to the slim figure in the hallway, Dave shrugs and tosses the knife to a nearby corner.  
“She came at me first, look what she did. I was only protecting myself.” Rose examines it briefly before helping her friend up to her feet.  
“Quit being such a child Dave, it's barely a scratch. I'm quite sure our darling brothers have given you worse wounds.” Dave shoves his hands in his pockets and nods towards his attacker.  
“By the way, who is she?”  
“It always slips my mind that you two are not acquainted. Dave, this is Kanaya, she's erm a friend of mine. Kanaya, this is Dave, one of my beloved brothers.” Kanaya straightens her posture and gives him a reserved smile.  
“Well met.” Dave gives a grunt in acknowledgement before turning his attention to his sister.  
“Rose, John needs your help.”  
“I'm sure he does; everyone needs help during times like this. The undead rising from their graves can be quite mentally stressing.” Dave shakes his head and grabs Rose's arm.  
“No, he got shot.” Her eyes widen.  
“He got shot? What happened?”  
“No time to explain. You have to help him.”

Karkat squeezes the trigger but nothing happens. He opens his eyes and sees Equius standing in front of him with Nepeta gathered behind one of his arms. Equius grabs the handgun and throws it across the room. He towers over the trembling Karkat.  
“What is the meaning of this? You could have killed Nepeta. Explain yourself.” His cool composure nearly cracks as he glowers down at Karkat. Karkat falls to his knees and stares down at the ground.  
“I- I thought you were zombies. I didn't know that it was you two.” Equius crosses his arms and lets out a steely growl.  
“That does not matter. Do you not understand you almost killed her? Do you understand?” Nepeta kneels down n ext to Karkat and puts an arm around him and looks up at Equius.  
“You would've done the same thing Equius. He was only trying to protect himself and John.”  
“Nepeta the only reason why you didn't die was because he forgot to load the gun. You could be dead right now.”  
“But I'm not.” Equius studies them for a moment before he looks at John who is sitting up in bed with wide eyes.  
“What happened to your friend? Did you shoot him as well Karkat?” Karkat glares up at him.  
“No, he got shot while he was outside. Strider is trying to find his sister so she can help him. He hasn't been back all fucking day, he's probably dead or some shit.”  
“Well it's nice that you have such high confidence in me Kittycat.” All four heads look towards the doorway, Dave stands with Rose and Kanaya on either side of him. Dave strides past Karkat and ruffles his hair as he walks past him.  
“You can't get rid of me that easily. How are are you feeling John?” John shrugs and smiles his signature goofy smile.  
“I can't complain, my life has certainly been more exciting ever since all of this shit started up. Hi Rose, what have you been up to?” Rose stands next to John and smiles gently down at him.  
“I've been doing nothing out of the ordinary really, just staying low and planning on if these undead have a weak spot besides their head. Let me see where you got shot.” John lifts up his shirt and Rose analyses the bullet wound.  
“Did you already clean it out?” Dave nods and leans against a wall and watches his sister poke around John.  
“Well, we can't get it out without some medical supplies.” Karkat gets up and walks out of the room. He goes into another room and sits down, blood has always made him a little bit squeamish and the last thing he wants to see is some gaping wound in John's abdomen. He finds himself in the bathroom and he sits down next to the bathtub and wishes that he could take a shower, all the dirt and sweat sticks to his body and he feels just miserable. He sees a shadow fall over him and sees Nepeta standing in front of him, she sits down and gazes into his light grey eyes.  
“Look, Nepeta, I'm sorry that I almost killed you. . .” His voice trails off and he breaks eye contact.  
“It's okay, it's understandable. Anyone of us would've done the same.”  
“You don't hate me?” She shakes her head, her short black hair bouncing off of her shoulders.  
“No, why would I?”  
“Oh, I don't know, maybe because I almost killed you?!”  
“It's okay Kitty! I don't hate you.” She squishes herself between Karkat and the bathtub and rests her head on his shoulder.  
“I don't think anyone hates you. You're too lovable!” Karkat looks at her with shock.  
“Wait, what?” She lets out a soft sigh and pulls away from him.  
“You're too cute for anyone to not like. Some people may even have a different kind of like for you too!”  
“What do you mean a different kind of like?” She starts to play with her fingerless gloves.  
“Well, like a crush.” Karkat feels his face start to get warm and he quickly looks down at his shoes.  
“Who likes me like that?”  
“Just. . . People.” Her reply was faint and Karkat looks at her from the corner of his eye.  
“Do I know them?”  
“Yeah.” With each reply, her voice grows more quiet and Karkat ponders for a moment.  
“Is, is it you?” Nepeta doesn't say anything for a long while and Karkat waits for her to speak. He watches her with patient eyes as she continues to stare down at the floor.  
“Hey Karkat?” He nods slightly and waits for her to continue. “Do you remember last year's Halloween party?”  
“Yeah, what about it?”  
-One year prior-

Karkat stands in the doorway of John's house. Gamzee stands next to him, he picks at a wedgie and mutters to Karkat.  
“Hey best motherfucking friend, does this skirt make me look all up and motherfucking flabby?” Karkat glances at his best friend who's dressed up as Jesse from Pokemon. He stares at the skirt and looks back up at Gamzee.”  
“No, it's makes you look like an idiot.”  
“Aww come on Karbro. Don't be all up and motherfuckinglike that.” Karkat rolls his eyes and Tavros rolls up to the duo.  
“Uh, prepare for trouble.”  
“Make it motherfucking double.” They look at Karkat expectedly and he crosses his arms and lets out a huff.  
“Fuck this shit.” Tavros fiddles with the rose in his lap and frowns at Karkat.  
“Karkat, uhh Meowth didn't say that in the series.”  
“I don't care. This is fucking stupid.” Gamzee paps Karkat before sauntering over to Tavros, and gives him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.  
“Well, we're going to go blasting to the moon. Have some motherfucking fun times Karbro.” Karkat watches Gamzee wheel Tavros away and he walks over to the sofa and slumps down with his head buried in his hands.  
“What the fuck are you supposed to be?” Karkat peeks through his hands and sees Vriska dressed up in a pirate costume. He lets out a groan and wishes that he was miles away from this damn party and on his computer enjoying the bliss of silence.  
“Leave me alone Vriska.”  
“I was just asking what you were. Jeez, is someone a little bit crabby today?”  
“Shut the fuck up.” She smirks and continues to irritate him. Nepeta sees them from a distance and bounds up to them.  
“Hello Whisker and Kitty!” She sits down on the sofa next to Karkat and examines his costume with bright eyes.  
“I love your costume! You're so cute!” Karkat blushes and glowers down at the floor.  
-end flashback-

“Yeah I remember it.”  
“Well, that's when I fell in love with you.” Karkat jolts up with surprise.  
“You- you love me?” She nods and smiles at Karkat.  
“Yeah I love you.” They fall silent for awhile. The silence becomes overwhelming and Nepeta clears her throat.  
“So what about you?”  
“Hmm?”  
“Do you like me?” Karkat leans over and kisses her cheek.  
“I'm really sorry but now isn't the right time to be dating. It's just that everything is bat shit insane and starting a relationship right now will only add to the risks. Maybe when all of this is over we could try something. I just don't want anything bad to happen.” Nepeta nods reluctantly.  
“I guess that makes sense.” There was a crash downstairs and Equius bursts through the door, sweating profusely.  
“We must evacuate immediately.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I'm the only one here, but I can most certainly see Gamzee, Tavros and Karkat dressing as Team Rocket. I don't know, maybe it is only me. Boy, Nepeta sure is adorable. Nepeta and Equius are one of my top loved characters in Homestuck.


	6. Chapter 6

Karkat and Nepeta follow Equius out of the bathroom and head back to the bedroom.  
“Something broke in through the door downstairs and we are sure that a noise such as that will attract more zombies. We must leave now.” Slow and dragging steps are heard from downstairs, glass breaking and laboured breathing grows louder as the being makes its way up the stairs. Everyone slings on their backpack and begin to go out the window. Nepeta first, followed by Rose, Kanaya, John, Dave, Karkat and Equius.   
The door behind them bursts open and Karkat looks over his shoulder and sees Gamzee standing there. His face is taunt and hallow, his blood shot eyes sit deep in their sockets and he has blood all over his wiry frame. Gamzee's ragged breathing fills the silent room as he takes a step towards the open window.  
“G-Gamzee?” Karkat pauses and heads back towards the window, Equius grabs his arm and pulls him back.  
“He is no longer your friend, he is a monster.”   
“No! Just let me talk to him! It's Gamzee, he's probably just playing a game on us! You know how he is. There's nothing wrong with him!” Equius drags Karkat down the stairs and Karkat struggles against Equius' iron grip.  
“Let me talk to him! Please! Let me fucking go!” Equius tightens his grip and shakes his head.  
“No, I will not permit that.” Tears roll down Karkat's face and he lets himself get dragged away from what used to be his best friend. He angrily wipes the tears from his face and looks up to the second floor of the hardware store when he sees an explosion of glass. Nepeta lets out a shriek of surprise and they all look back to see that Gamzee jumped out of the window and is making his way towards them. He starts to sprint after them, shrieking at the top of his lungs.  
“We have to go now!” They all start running, Gamzee's long strides nearly brings him on top of them. He reaches out a long arm and clutches Karkat's collar. Karkat starts to scream and Equius rips Gamzee's hand off of Karkat and pushes him away from Karkat.  
“Run!” Karkat's legs have a mind of his own as he takes off and he catches up with the rest of the group. Equius appears next to Nepeta and takes her hand. They continue to run wildly as Gamzee starts to catch up to them again.  
“We can't outrun him! He's too fast!” John shouts out in gasping breaths. Dave looks over his shoulder and frowns, and takes a sharp turn left.  
“We have to get out of the streets before more appear! We're going towards the grocery store.” They follow him and sprint up to the grocery store. The doors slide open with ease and they all hurry inside. Gamzee grabs at Nepeta's leg, making her trip. She falls down to the ground with a loud thud and the doors begin to malfunction and slam shut on her torso. The sound of her ribs cracking fills the quiet air and blood dribbles out of the corner of her mouth. She lets out a loud cry in pure agony as Gamzee begins to bite her legs.  
“Nepeta!” Equius bellows out and tries to pull the doors open. Tears run down her cheeks and she starts to shake uncontrollably.   
“Someone help me! I can't get the doors open!” Everyone stands in shock as they watch Gamzee rip off flesh from her legs. Her muscle and bone is visible and the sounds of her screeching of torment draws out more zombies from their hiding places.   
“Stop standing around! Help me with the doors!” Karkat rushes up to Nepeta and takes her hands.  
“It's going to be okay! Stay with us Nepeta!” She tightens her grip on Karkat's hand so that his circulation is cut off. She stares up in his eyes with pure horror and excruciating pain.  
“I don't want to die.” It comes out as a hoarse whisper and Karkat shakes his head vehemently.  
“No, you're not going to die Nepeta!” The other zombies reach her and pile up on her legs. Everyone is able to hear her flesh ripping and her bones cracking as they greedily try to get to the marrow inside of her bones. She lets out a whimper and she coughs up more blood and she takes in her final breaths.  
“No!” Equius lets out a berated and desperate shout, “No!” He pushes Karkat aside and tries to drag Nepeta inside. She weakly looks up at her best friend as she breaths her last breath. He pulls in her torso, the skeleton remains of her legs are left outside and the doors slide shut with a faint click. They can hear the zombies growling at each other as they fight over the last remains of what used to be Nepeta's legs. Equius crashes down to the ground and never lets go of Nepeta's cooling hands.   
“Wake up! You're stronger than this Nepeta! Wake up, I demand it!” He picks her up and holds her close to him, her blood soaking through his tank top and shorts. His sobs float through the desolate store and everyone stands around him. The zombies press their faces to the doors and stare inside with hunger driven eyes. Equius glowers at Karkat and points a trembling finger at him.  
“It is all your fault that she's dead! If you would have helped me when I asked for it, she could still be alive right now! It's your fault Nepeta is gone forever!” He runs his hands through her blood matted hair and wails loudly.  
“Do not leave me alone here Nepeta! Come back!” Rose rests a hand on his shoulder and he shies away from her.  
“No, do not touch me! All you did was stand around as she was being devoured! All of you are nothing but cowards!” He sets her down gently on the ground and kisses her forehead and stands up. He rolls back his shoulders and cracks his knuckles and gives Nepeta one final look before heading towards the doors.  
“What the fuck are you doing?!” Without looking over his shoulder he replies in a monotone voice.  
“I'm avenging Nepeta.” John stands in front of Equius.  
“You can't go out there! You'll be slaughtered!” He roughly pushes John away and he stumbles back a few feet.  
“Do not get in my way, any of you; or you will regret it immensely.” He crashes through the glass doors, the glass shatters and digs into his skin. Equius barely notices his blood flowing down his body and mixes with Nepeta's already drying blood as he goes towards the nearest zombie and breaks its neck. The rest of the zombies start to crowd around him and he kills two more with his bare fists until one of them from behind him bites down on his neck, he falls to the ground with a defeated cry and they fall on top of him at once. Everyone flinches as they hear his dying shouts of anger and bones breaking. A pool of blood begins to spread at the zombies' feet and John starts to puke.   
“Oh God, why?” He moans out between retches. Dave starts to walk away and heads to the back door.  
“We have to keep a move on, this isn't the best place to stay.” Rose helps John up and they all make their way to the door on the other side of the store. Karkat wipes his tears away and sees that Rose is trying her best not to cry and John isn't even trying to hide his tears, they fall freely down his face and snot drips down from his nose. Kanaya is quiet and says nothing as she dabs a rogue tear that dribbles down her cheek. Dave clenches his teeth together and walks rigidly. He could have prevented all of this if he had shut the door all he way. The death of Nepeta and Equius lies heavily on his shoulders.   
“Where are we going to go?” John asks quietly, his voice is rough from crying and Dave shrugs.  
“Somewhere far away from here.”  
“Why even bother? There's no point, there's going to be zombies fucking everywhere.”   
“Shut up Karkat, just shut the fuck up.” 

June 17th, 2013  
Nepeta and Equius are. . . They're fucking dead. We all watched them fucking die and we didn't do anything to prevent it. We just let the fucking zombies eat them. How do we even fucking live with ourselves? WE JUST LET THEM DIE LIKE CATTLE! They could have been fucking saved if we would have tried. Oh god oh god oh god. They're gone forever, I'll no longer do those little role playing sessions with Nepeta and have sleep overs at her house where we watched romcoms and Disney movies. I'll never be able to hear Equius' horse puns and I'll never hear their voices again. The last thing I heard was their dying screams. Please forgive me. I told her that nothing bad would happen, look what fucking happened. She died holding my hand. We're all going to die, there's no more hope. We are all going to fucking die. God help us.  
-Karkat Vantas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yupp, too bad I had to kill them off. I guess that's what happens when one makes a zombie apocalypse story. They shall live forever in our hearts.


	7. Chapter 7

The circle of friends is quiet as they remember back to yesterday when they watched Nepeta and Equius get eaten alive. As the zombies were eating Equius, the remaining five friends made their escape. Bursting out the back door, they ran for what seemed like hours.   
“Equius was right.” Everyone looks at John as he wipes away some tears, “We could have saved her back there.” Dave stands up and faces away from his friends.  
“No, how do you expect to save someone when they were already bit? As soon as she fell, there was no hope for her.”   
“How the fuck can you say that? Are you that fucking heartless?!” Dave snaps his head over to John, his fists clenched so tightly that blood begins to dribble from his palms.  
“I'm being fucking realistic Egbert. I really do wish we could save them but we couldn't.” Rose stands up and rests a slender hand on her brother's shoulder.  
“Dave is right, there was no chance for us saving Nepeta. Equius on the other hand, if we had tried harder to keep him under control; he would have been alive.”  
“No he wouldn't.” Karkat stares down at the ground and pulls his knees up to his chest, “He wouldn't have been able to go on without her, Equius would have probably killed himself or something.” He bites his lip and he starts to cry, silent sobs shake through his small body. Kanaya sits down next to him and pulls him into her and wipes away his tears.   
“M. . . Maybe this is all a dream. That has to be it! There's no such thing as zombies! No, I'm at home sleeping and all of this is just one big fucking nightmare. They can't be dead! No! Everyone is still alive and it's just a fucked up dream of mine!” John starts to pace around the room, muttering to himself and no one pays him any mind until he starts digging through Dave's backpack.  
“Hey, what are you doing bro? Not cool.” He takes out a granola bar and holds it triumphantly over his head.  
“This is just a dream Dave.” John peels back the wrapper and looks at everyone with a big smile on his face.  
“I'll see all of you at school tomorrow!” Dave races towards John but he takes a bite of the granola bar and chews quickly before swallowing. Dave smacks the bar out of his hand and shakes John's shoulders.  
“Please tell me that you didn't swallow that! Spit it out now!” John shrugs and gives Dave a hug.  
“John, this isn't a dream! You have to puke that out.” John crumples to the ground and starts to claw at his throat, he makes small gasping noises as his writhing starts to weaken. Karkat squeezes his eyes shut and tries to block out the sounds of his choking friend. Eventually, the sounds cease and Karkat cracks open an eye and sees Dave kneeling down next to his best friend.   
“Come on John, enough of your stupid pranking games. Get up.” Dave gently shakes John's shoulder in feeble attempts to wake him up.  
“John, please don't be dead.” Karkat closes his eye again and clutches to Kanaya, his tears staining her shirt. 

June 20th 2013  
This stuff can't be happening. I refuse to acknowledge that all of this shit is real. Why did this have to happen to me? Oh God, I don't think I can handle this for much longer. John killed himself two days ago. He thought that this was all just a dream and he ate Dave's granola bar which had peanuts in it. It took him a minute to die. We all had to listen to his gasps for breath, we had to watch his face turn blue and purple, we had to watch his eyes bulge out of his skull as he twitched on the floor. And there was absolutely fucking nothing we could do about it. All we could do was. . . Was watch him die, just like Nepeta and Equius. We're all going to go to hell, it's probably better than staying here.   
Yesterday we heard a scream in a shop across from us, Strider didn't want to check it out because he was wary of there being zombies everywhere but I was adamant and left with Kanaya and Jack. We followed the screams to Starbucks, we tried looking in the windows but it was pitch black and by the time we reached it; it was dead quiet.   
I cracked open the front door, ignoring the little bell chime and stepped into the dark room. Glass crunched underneath my feet as I inched my way through the small shop. The smell of spoiled milk filled my nose and my eyes were watering from the rotten smell. My eyes eventually adjusted to the darkness and I saw a figure cowering in one of the corners, blood was pooling around the person and Jack went ahead of me and sniffed the scared person. I heard him let out a soft cry of surprise and he looked up and saw me. He leapt to his feet and ran to me and gave me a tight hug.   
Turns out, it was Eridan. He was mumbling something but he was talking so rapidly, I couldn't catch what he was saying. I heard a shuffle of movement behind me and I snapped around to see Tavros on the floor crawling towards us, there was tears running down his face and he was crying out feebly. Kanaya reached him first and she saw that he was bit, but he wasn't a zombie.   
We took both of them back to our hiding place and Dave wasn't very happy about having either of them with us, I think I'll talk to him about that after I finish writing what happened. Rose and Kanaya were studying Tavros and I was asking Eridan what happened.   
He told me that he went to Starbucks after my party and it was getting late, he was heading out the door when something stumbled past him and fell to the floor. He was paralysed as he watched it stop moving. He called the ambulance and one of the workers bent down next to the figure to check if it was okay. It let out a long wail and bit a chunk out of her hand. People were freaking out and stumbling over one each other as they raced towards the door, only to be met with another zombie waiting for them outside. Eridan ran past everyone and locked himself in the manager's office. Not opening it for anyone, the door shook as frightened people tried to bash their way into the newly found haven. He curled underneath the desk and listened to their cries slowly die off.   
He stayed in there for a few days until hunger drove him to leave the office in hopes of finding food. He refused to tell me what he saw when he walked back into the store, but he looked really shaken up and tears rolled down his cheeks.   
Somehow Tavros and him banded together and they lived in the office for awhile but something broke in during the middle of the night and drove them out of the office. It must've bit Tavros before Eridan was able to kill it because when he went back to check on his friend, Tavros was holding one of his legs and blood pulsed out of the unseen wound. Oddly enough, Tavros never changed into a zombie but Eridan always kept his distance away from him.   
The screams we heard were from Tavros, Eridan says that he's always in pain and Tavros tried to kill himself to stop the pain and he was screaming in frustration because he couldn't do it.  
I feel so bad for both of them, they've went through so much fucking hell; I guess everyone has though. How long will this last? How many of our friends are left? How many more are going to die?   
-Karkat Vantas

Karkat hides his journal and looks up to see where Dave has disappeared to. He sees him on the other side of the room, away from everyone else. He catches Karkat's gaze and waggles his eyebrows at him. Karkat frowns at him and walks over to him.  
“Hey.”  
“Sup.” Karkat sits down next to Strider, who studies him with a questioning expression, “Heh, when was the last time we actually had a normal conversation?” Karkat remains quiet for a moment before softly replying.  
“It was on my birthday.”  
“Damn, that seems so long ago. What brings you to Coolkidtown anyway?”  
“I have a few questions for you Strider.”  
“Like 20 Questions? Man, I'm good at that game. You better be careful, I bet I can beat you. Like at everything else.”  
“Shut up and stop being a prick for like five fucking minutes. Can you do that? I'll even say please.”  
“Anything for you Kittycat.” Karkat blushes at the said nickname and clears his throat.  
“Why don't you want Tavros or Eridan to join us?” Dave chews on the inside of his cheek and lets out a sigh.  
“I wasn't expecting a question like that.”  
“Well?” Dave doesn't say anything, he studies the back of his hands as he ignores the young man sitting next to him. Karkat starts to tap his foot impatiently and checks his wrist and looks at his invisible watch.  
“Yeah go ahead. Take your time, it's not like we're in a middle of a fucking zombie apocalypse or anything.”  
“I don't really want to talk about it, it's just something stupid okay? Leave it alone.”  
“You can tell me, it's not like I'm going to laugh or anything.” Karkat rests his head on the palm of his hand and he continues to stare at his friend. Dave says nothing and Karkat fears that maybe he has fallen asleep, he wouldn't put that past Dave.   
“I've already had to kill so many people. I have the deaths of Nepeta, Equius and John haunting me. I could have fucking prevented all of them. I killed your own fucking brother in front of you, how can you even stand to talk to me still? I don't want to have anyone else's death resting on my shoulders. I might as well carry the world on my back. I just don't want anyone else to die.” Dave speaks in a hoarse whisper and Karkat draws Dave into a hug.  
“You had to kill Kankri for us to survive. All of us would have been dead if you hadn't. We all could have saved them, it's not just your fault. What you did back there took a lot of fucking guts and because of that, you're everyone's hero.” Dave pulls away from Karkat and shakes his head slightly.  
“No, that's not me. I'm no hero, I'm a monster.”   
“Don't think that way Strider.”   
“I have innocent blood on my hands Vantas. How can I not think that way? I'm just a fucking monster.”   
“No you're not. You're not even close to a monster. Stop fucking calling yourself that.”   
“Make me.” Karkat studies Dave who has a very faint smug smirk on his face, Karkat brings his hand up to slap Dave across the face. Dave leans back and grabs Karkat's wrist.  
“What the fuck are you doing Vantas?”  
“I was going to make you shut up.”  
“By slapping me? When I asked you to make me shut up, that's not exactly what I meant.” Karkat narrows his eyes at the reflective shades and lets out a low hiss.  
“Then what did you mean by it?” Dave lets go of his wrist and shakes his head.  
“Nothing, you obviously don't see it.”  
“See what?” Dave chuckles softly and stands up.  
“Exactly my point.” Karkat jumps to his feet and grabs Dave's sleeve.  
“I want to know what you meant by that!”  
“It's nothing Vantass.” Karkat moves in front of Dave and crosses his arms with a stubborn pout resting on his lips.  
“I'm not letting you go until you tell me.” Dave throws his hands above his head and scoffs at his small friend.  
“Why in the hell does it matter so much to you.”   
“Because I'm curious and you're acting weird.”   
“For the love of- okay, you want to know?”   
“What on the fucking earth made you even think that I wanted to know? Surely it wasn't my continuous fucking badgering of what's got your damn tongue!” Dave bites his bottom lip and leans down towards Karkat and kisses him softly on his lips.  
“You have my tongue.” He stands back up, puts his hands in his pockets and walks away from Karkat who stares after him, he brings his hands up to his lips. They still tingle softly from where Dave's cool and soft lips rested on his. For once he is left speechless as he tries to gather what happened just a few moments ago. He feels eyes boring into his back but he ignores is as he walks after Dave. 

“Now what?” Dave is sitting on the stairs and he stares down at Karkat. Karkat goes up a step and pauses, he plays with the fabric of his shirt and sticks his tongue out at Dave.  
“That was a shitty ass kiss Strider.” Dave raises an eyebrow and says nothing as Karkat ascends another stair.  
“I've always heard that Striders gave the best kisses, you kiss me and I'm pretty fucking sure that even a goat can kiss better than you.” Dave smirks at him.  
“You would know how goats kiss.” Karkat ignores his comment and stands in front of Dave.   
“A pig is more romantic than you.” Dave pulls Karkat down on his lap, his breath hot on his face and Karkat wraps his hands behind Dave's pale neck.  
“Sorry, would you like to see a movie? Never mind the fucking zombies, I'm sure if we play a good enough movie; they'll leave us alone for about an hour and a half.”  
“Shut the fuck up Strider.” Karkat leans forward and smashes his lips against Dave's. Dave flicks his tongue across Karkat's chapped lips and Karkat lets out a soft moan. Dave wraps his arms around Karkat's waist and pulls him closer to himself. Dave travels down to his neck and bites gently on his clavicle. Karkat's eyes shoot open and he jumps off of Dave as he remembers what he said to Nepeta. Tears prick the corner of his eyes and he rushes down the stairs.  
“Wait- what?” Karkat doesn't look at Dave as he pauses at the door, he bows his head and lets out a sniffle. His hand is wrapped tightly around the cold metal knob.  
“I can't do this Dave.” Dave stands up and goes down one step.  
“Why not?” Karkat jolts his head up and stares at Dave with wide, tear polluted eyes.  
“I- I just can't!” Karkat remembers back to Nepeta, how her blood dribbled out of her full lips and the pain that filled her eyes with such agony and fear. He tries to shake the image from his head but he only remembers more of her death. Dave touches Karkat's shoulder and Karkat shies away from him.  
“No! Don't touch me!” Dave withdraws his hand and stares at Karkat with worry but says nothing as he watches him slide down the door with tears running down his face. Dave sits down next to him and he is about to say something until they hear a blood chilling scream from the door behind them. They both jump to their feet and Karkat yanks the door open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then there's this damn chapter. I don't even know what I was thinking when I was writing this one, it's all over the place and then DaveKat?? I honestly don't know why I threw that in there. . . Besides it being my OTP. I was seriously considering just taking that whole bit of happening out but I think I'll keep it for now.


	8. Chapter 8

When Dave throws open the door, what greeted them was total chaos. Tavros is lying dead on the floor, his teeth bared and blood dripping from his mouth. Kanaya is hunched down on the floor and cradling her hand, Rose was staring down at her friend with awestruck horror. Her violet eyes widen and she falls down to the ground next to Kanaya.  
"Kanaya, please tell me that you didn't. . ." Kanaya bites her bottom lip and blinks away the tears that are threatening at the corners of her eyes.  
"I'm afraid so."  
"No." It came out as a soft whisper and Rose throws her arms around Kanaya's shaking shoulders. "No, this can't be happening." Kanaya cups Rose's cheek and stares into her eyes, she smiles through her tears.  
"This looks as if this is going to be the end."  
"Don't say that."  
"Rose, you know what happens when one gets bit. I can't stay around, I'll only end up like those monsters." Rose shakes her head vehemently and lets out a soft sob.  
"Kanaya, I need you." She kisses Rose tenderly on the lips and hugs her tightly.  
"You're strong."  
"I can't do this."  
"Yes you can. I believe in you."  
"Don't die before I do." Kanaya closes her eyes and smiles slightly.  
"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Dear." Kanaya hands her the knife and kisses her once more.  
"No, I refuse to do this!"  
"It must be done."  
"Not like this! We promised not to die!" Rose ignores the tears that are falling from her eyes and glares at Kanaya, "We promised to die when we're both old and happy."  
"But I am happy."  
"How are you happy? You're going to die."  
"Because the last thing I'll see will be you. I'll be happy knowing that I died before I changed, I'm happy because I love you."  
"Kanaya, I love you too."  
"Then you understand that you have to do this." Rose bows her head in defeat and nods slightly.  
"Yes." Karkat turns away from the duo and buries his head in Dave's shirt so he wouldn't have to witness the last minutes of Kanaya's life. He clenches his eyes shut and tries to ignore the feeble cries of Dave's sister.

June 20th 2013  
Kanaya is dead. . . . She's dead. . . . She's fucking dead.

June 23rd 2013  
Rose left us, she said that she needs time to think. I don't know what's going to happen to her, she yesterday morning and hasn't come back. I don't even know what to do anymore. Everything is shit. Fucking shit. Everyone is fucking dying left and right, why in the hell is this happening?! I hate this, I hate everything, I hate being scared that everyday could be my last day alive. It's only Dave, Eridan, Jack and me left. We haven't seen anyone else, not that I want anyone else to join us; it only adds salt to the wounds when you have to watch them die.  
I don't know what to do about Dave, we haven't spoken since. . . Well yeah. It's just that I can't stop thinking about what happened to Nepeta and what I told her. Then I go around after she fucking died and make out with Strider? What the fuck is going through my brain? I must be the most fucked up person in the world. He keeps staring at me, like he's trying to understand what's going through my head. He's more than welcome to try to sort it out because I have no fucking idea what I'm even thinking anymore. It's probably just because he makes me feel safe, wow, that makes me look and feel like such a fucking dick. You know what? I don't give a fuck. I don't have time to worry about this shit. I really don't.  
I, uh, I got bit yesterday when I went after Rose. I don't know how it happened, I don't know how I allowed myself to even get fucking bit, but it happened. I got fucking bit. I know that I sound selfish but I didn't tell anyone. I don't want to die.  
-Karkat Vantas

Karkat looks down at his arm and glares at the crescent shaped wound, he pokes it with his other hand. The flesh around the bite is dead and gives off the smell of decay, the bite itself is warm to the touch and oozes a clear liquid. There's no pain, even when he cleaned it out last night. It leaves him confused that he hasn't turned yet, but he's in no way shape or form complaining that he hasn't turned into a zombie.  
Karkat doesn't even know how long it takes for someone to change into a zombie. He's going to have ask Eridan later since he was with Tavros for a while before and after he was a zombie. Karkat glares at the wall opposite of him and brings his fist down the ground in frustration. Why did this have to happen to him?  
He lets out a small sniffle and grabs the gun by his side, he might as well end it here and then he wouldn't have to worry about losing his mind and killing the last of his friends.  
"Hey Kar- what the hell are you doing?"  
"Good bye Dave, this is for the best." Everything moves in slow motion as Dave dives for the gun and as a single tear dribbles down Karkat's cheek, he pulls the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I lied; this is the shortest chapter of the story. It's nearly done though! Which means I can work on other stories that will hopefully not be as terrible as this one. . . Fairwinds.


	9. Chapter 9

Dave cradles Karkat's limp body to his chest and says nothing. His mind is reeling back to just a few minutes prior when he saw Karkat pull the trigger, the bullet raced through his chest and stills his beating heart. Dave's mind is numb and filled with fear that he is going to be the last to survive. He rests Karkat on the floor and rests his pale hands on Karkat's bloodied chest.  
“You're not dead. You can't be. Stop this, stop this little act of yours.” He pushes his hands down on Karkat's chest in attempts to re-animate his heart again.   
“You were always such a little shit you know that? Always thinking about yourself, do you even care about others? Why would you do this to me? Get up.” Dave brings his lips down to Karkat's and breathes air into his fallen friend. He comes up for another breath when he sees Eridan standing at the doorway, his violet eyes wide behind his Buddy Holly glasses. Eridan takes a tentative step towards him and he shakes his head.  
“Davve, you havve to step awway from him.”  
“No, I'm not leaving him. He's not dead.” He pushes down on Karkat's chest again and wipes away the sweat that drips slowly down his forehead.   
“Look at Kar's arm, he's infected.”   
“Stop it, you sound like a crazy person.” Eridan kneels down next to Dave and gently grabs his hands and points to the bite on Karkat's arm.  
“I'm tellin' the truth.” Dave tears his gaze from the wound and stands up abruptly with a huff. He glares down at Eridan and without a word he walks out of the room. 

The hot summer sun sets over the rolling hills and Dave sits on a chair next to a window and gazes up at the stars. Ever since the power finally shut down around town, night envelopes the town with a dark embrace and the only source of light are the millions of stars that litter the endless night sky.   
He isn't sure where Eridan has disappeared to, he said something to Dave a few hours earlier but he paid no attention to what the lanky hipster had to say. Now he sits alone in the building, with the dead body of his childhood friend and crush in the room next door.   
He picks at the peeling paint on the windowsill and lets out a soft sigh, these past few weeks have been so emotionally draining and he has no one to talk to anymore. He's tired of acting like the leader all the time, he wishes that for once someone else could assume responsibility and that he could take a break, or at least have someone's shoulder to cry on. For the first time in his life, he feels utterly alone in the world.  
Dave isn't sure on what will happen next. He supposes he could go and try to find his brothers or go and seek out Rose again. However, he lost all motivation to do this. All he feels is an insatiable rage that he can't even keep one of his friends alive. He's a failure, it's a miracle that he's even survived this long. Why should he even bother continue to go on? Being in the world alone and seeing so many people die in front of him, he isn't afraid of death anymore and being dead is starting to sound more and more appealing to him.   
He would never carry out with it though, not because he's scared. No, he wouldn't be able to do it because it's stupid and he can't let everyone down. Not that he has anyone to let down but he feels that somewhere, they are still with him. Maybe it's just because his mind finally snapped and perhaps he's hearing their voices in his head or perhaps it's the guilt of the innocent blood on his hands that pulls him through so much torture. He doesn't know and nor does he really care. All he cares about is what's lying in their dried blood in the room next to him.   
The door behind him opens and Dave acknowledges it with a grunt.  
“You were gone for a while, what you go on some crazy ass adventure without me? That's kinda hurtful yo.” There's no reply and Dave is about to turn around when he hears a gruff whisper.  
“Dave. . .” A shiver snakes its way up his spine, he knows that voice anywhere. His mouth goes slack, there's no way that can be Karkat, he watched him die; he died in his arms. There's no way that it could be Karkat. . . Unless, it had something to do with his bite.   
“Dave.” There's that damn whisper again, he grits his teeth at the thick, syrupy murmur that's only a few feet behind him.  
“No, you're dead. You fucking died in my arms.” He hears a soft shuffle of feet and his whole body is screaming to run but yet he remains still. A hand colder than Death's grip rests on Dave's shoulder and Dave turns his head slightly and sees Karkat standing behind him. A gaping hole adorns his chest and blackened blood stains his shirt and pants. One of Karkat's eyes are milky white and the other one still has it's silvery grey colour, his once porcelain complexion is now splotchy and grey. His mouth his agape and he stares down at Dave with his good eye.  
“Dave I-” Blood dribbles down the corner of his mouth and Karkat watches as it falls to the ground, he seems to have lost what he was going to say as he continues to bore down at the blood droplets. With laboured breathing and shaking hands, Karkat wipes away the blood from his mouth and stares at his quivering hand with dull eyes.   
“I'm not. . . Dead.” He looks back at Dave and his hand falls limply to his side. Karkat lets out a wheezing cough that Dave can only assume that is a chuckle of some sort. Dave slowly stands up and stares at Karkat .   
“It can't be.” Karkat takes a step closer to Dave and wraps his arms gingerly around him, a faint smell of decay and sickness surrounds Karkat and Dave cringes slightly but hugs his friend back. He feels tears pricking at his eyes and he lets out a soft sniffle.  
“I thought you were dead, you fucking asshole. I promise that I won't let anything bad happen to you ever again. You're not going to leave me a second time.” Karkat says nothing as he lets his head rest against Dave's slim chest, there's a dull throbbing pain in the core of his body but Karkat ignores it and nods into Dave's shirt. He lets out a choked sob and the pain gets worse, Karkat pushes himself away from Dave and sits down on the floor with his hands balled up into fists and his head bowed.   
“It hurts. . . So much.”   
“I can get you pain killers! There's nothing wrong with you okay?” Karkat peers up at Dave, tears dribbling down his sunken in cheeks and he nods slightly with a small growl. Of course there's nothing wrong with him, it's only his body shutting down slowly. Karkat is starting to understand why they screamed so much on that first day and he has a small thought in the back of his mind that the pain he's feeling is nothing compared to what's in store for him next.   
He closes his heavy eyelids and wishes that the bullet had killed him, evidently it seemed that it only sped up the process. He doesn't know how long he will have his human side to him and it worries him even more that he has a hunger that's gnawing at his stomach. He ignores it for now, there's no way that he's going to allow himself to kill Dave. He can go without food, he's already dead so what's the point of eating? He hears rapid footsteps and a shout, he ignores everything. The shouting of voices, a dog growling and he thinks he heard a gun go off. Everything is fading to blackness and he's so tired. He just wants to sleep, why can't they be quiet? He's so tired and in so much pain, he doesn't know how he's going to deal with the pain but he decides that that can wait until tomorrow. Right now all he wants is to sleep. The last thing he hears is someone crying before he drifts off to dreamless slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have a feeling that maybe this chapter would confuse you guys; when my friend was overlooking it he was confused with what happened to Karkat. Basically, yes he was obviously bitten, given that when he killed himself it would speed up the process of zombification because he's already dead so the virus has one less thing to do. Since the virus didn't kill him off by itself, he still possess a human state of mind because the virus did not kill that part of his brain. He will eventually be overrun by the virus but it is working at a slower pace now, he is however, in immense pain at all times.   
> Also, did you know that Chemical X is actually Worcestershire sauce? I could potentially make my own Powerpuff Girls. This is fantastic.


	10. Chapter 10

“Dave, you know that this is a bad idea. You know what happens when they get bit. Just take him out of his misery.”  
“You don't understand Ampora. He's Still Karkat.”  
“No he's not. He's a monster! Look at him.” The voices fade and Karkat's ears begin to ring. The ringing grows louder and a sharp pain shoots up his spine. He lets out a low hiss and opens his eyes.  
Karkat begins to panic, he doesn't remember what happened and he can only see out of one eye, the other is cloudy and dim. His panicked and ragged breathing fills the room. Where is everyone? Not even Jack is in sight. Was there an attack and he's the only one alive? Where are the bodies of his fallen friends then?   
He stumbles to his feet and sees dried blood on his shirt.  
“Dave?” His voice is gravely and weak. His muddles vision sees the shadow of feet from beneath the door. The knob doesn't turn. Karkat begins to walk towards the door but is stopped short. Something yanks at his neck and he sees that here is a chain around his neck. Karkat looks back towards the door where Dave is standing and lets out a scared whimper.  
“What's going on?” Dave tenses at the sound of Karkat's voice.   
“You don't remember?” A red haze sets in Karkat's vision and his head starts to pound as he tries to remember what happened.   
“No I don't.” Dave lets out a sigh and takes a step backwards.   
“You're one of them. You fucking shot yourself and you died in my arms, now here we are having a nice little chat.” Karkat feels a sense of dread envelope him and he collapses to the cold cement floor.  
“I, what?”   
“You heard me.”  
“Stop with this joke. It's not fucking funny! Get this damned chain off of me right now!” Karkat feels anger surge through his veins and he strains against the chain, “Why won't you fucking listen to me?” He howls at the top of his lungs and he sees Dave flinch very slightly, there's something else hiding underneath Strider's icy exterior. It's a fear so potent that Karkat can smell is spreading to every corner of the desolate room.  
“I can't do that.” With those words, Dave reaches for the door and starts to close it.  
“Don't you leave me in here! Please.”   
“I'm sorry Karkat.” The door slowly shuts with a silent click and Karkat is left in the room with nothing but his deranged thoughts. 

He sits quietly. There's no way that he's one of those monsters. Dave is just playing some sick joke on him. Karkat tries to think back to clarify if what Dave said was true but he only felt an immense empty space in his mind. No matter how much he tried to focus on that part of his mine, he can't unearth what is locked up.   
He looks around the room and sees blood everywhere, besides that there really isn't anything else in the room with him save for a broken table at the corner opposite of him. So trying to figure a way out isn't exactly an option unless he wishes to try to beat the chain senseless with one of the table's legs.   
There is a window a few feet from him, the glass is not present and a hot summer breezes wafts through the window. A smell of something decaying fills Karkat's nose and he tries to find the source of the decay. Not finding where it's coming from, he shrugs it off and continues to think about this particular situation he's in.   
Sometime during his thoughts of self-loathing and misery, his alert ears pick up on a small scampering on the roof above him. Karkat sits very still and tilts one side of his head up towards the sound. A wiry smile sets on Karkat's thin lips as the scampering grows louder. In his mind, he maps out where the squirrel is at; hopping along the rooftop, slowly towards the window. It pauses, perhaps it found something interesting to look at or maybe forgot where it was going. Karkat doesn't know, nor does he care. All they are to him are snacks with legs and a tiny brain. They're inferior, meant only to serve as fuel for the predators.   
At this point, Karkat stops breathing. If he's going to eat, he must not scare off his little snack. The thought of not breathing doesn't even register in his mind, he has no real purpose to breathe anymore. What use will oxygen do for him now? The squirrel is nearly at the edge of the house, right above the window. Karkat has since then begun to move ever so slowly underneath the window. He now positions himself directly under the window and peers outside with his good eye, waiting for his prey to make a move.   
He can hear it prepare to jump onto the branch right outside of his window. Karkat's mouth begins to water and he plays with his fingers as he waits. Karkat sees the squirrel fling itself to the branch and at that moment, he hurls his arm out the window and grabs the squirrel around it's midsection. His hand squeezes close and he can feel the ribs cracking beneath his cold fingers. Karkat brings in his arm and gazes at his prize with pride.   
Just as he's about to bring it to his mouth, he realises what he has done and throws the body of the squirrel across the room in disgust. He starts to vomit that he has nearly eaten a raw squirrel. He has no idea what has possessed him to even think about eating a squirrel, much less, raw meat. He stares at his hands that are dyed with fresh blood and he vomits once more.

Dave sits on the other side of the wall, listening to Karkat's silent sobbing and heaving. He rests his head between his hands and closes his eyes. He knows that he should just kill Karkat and get it over with. It would be better if he would be out of his misery, he knows that if he was in Karkat's shoes he would want to be killed.   
He gets up and brushes off the dirt from his pants and walks to the room where Eridan and Jack are at.  
“Kar kept a journal, did you know that?” Dave looks down at Eridan who is sitting on a thin mattress.   
“No I didn't, let me see it.” Eridan shrugs and tosses it to Dave, he catches it and starts to read the first page. After reading all of Karkat's entries, Dave realises that he's unable to bring himself to kill Karkat. Reading his journal made Dave see another side of Karkat, something that's more human than Dave. He doesn't know what it is, perhaps it's just his mind making up excuses not to kill his best friend.   
“I'm not going to do it.”  
“Do what?”   
“Kill Vantas.”  
“Why-” Dave throws the book back at Eridan and gives him a frown.  
“Because he's still Karkat, he's not one of those things.”   
“Maybe you need to take off your shades, have you seen him? He's a zombie.”   
“I know he is, but he's fighting it. I'm not killing an innocent person. If you don't want to deal with them then you can leave. I'm not killing him and I'm not going to let you kill him. It's your choice.” Eridan stands up and faces Dave.  
“Are you fuckin' serious.”  
“Yeah I am. Either you deal with Karkat who's still a person inside or you can be alone out there with monsters with no human thought. Like I said, it's up to you.” A long silence stretches between the two boys and Eridan narrows his eyes at the other.  
“This is going to come back and bite you in the ass when he fully becomes one of 'em.”  
“I'll save that problem for when it happens.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's chapter ten. I know that I said that I'll start posting every Monday or whatever day it was. I'm sorry that I've been slacking on that but in reality, I don't feel motivated to do anything anymore besides moping around in self loathing and depression. Posting chapters isn't exactly on the top of my priorities right now, I hope that doesn't make me sound too much like a dick but that's the truth. I just wish something good will happen soon, I'm honestly at my wits end.

**Author's Note:**

> I lied, I'm only going to put this up for tonight because I don't feel well and I have a killer headache, I have no idea how long this story is going to be but I really do love this story; I do want to say that it's going to be roughly 14 chapters long so it's my longest story so far. I'm going to bed now, good night/morning/afternoon or whatever. Fairwinds.


End file.
